This invention pertains to weaving methods and to weaving machines and particularly to weft strand positioning.
In triaxial weaving machines warp strands are arranged in two sheets which are formed into sheds for receiving weft strands. The warp strands in the sheets are moved weftwise in opposite directions after each shedding operation, as described in the commonly owned Kulczycki U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,578. After insertion into the shed, the weft strand is beaten down against the fell by a reed having dents thereon extending between the warp strands in each sheet. Because of the changing positions of the warp strands in the two sheets, the dents must be withdrawn from the sheets after each pick. It has been found that weft strands inserted into the shed by a gripper type insertion mechanism tend to rise and flutter as the gripper approaches the exit end of the shed. This action is due principally to momentum acquired while travelling in the shed. As a result, the dents penetrating the shed are sometimes below at least a portion of the length of weft strand, so that such a portion is not beaten down against the fell and results in an imperfection in the fabric being woven. Such imperfections may be present in any fabric made on other weaving machines in which the dents of the reed are withdrawn from the shed between picks.